Race Recap: Jubilee Hall Trust 5k Trail Race

Background: In retrospect, I’m not really sure why I entered this 5k trail race in the Parliament Hill area of Hampstead Heath. I could have just run Hampstead Heath parkrun…for free. But I had pleasant memories of running the Jubilee Hall Trust 10k a couple of years ago, and the entry fee went towards the British Heart Foundation and the Jubilee Hall Trust‘s work to help people improve their heart health, so why not? I also thought this race would be good hill training and preparation for cross country season (although again, I could’ve just done HH parkrun).

Goal: I had a full-on workweek leading up to the Saturday morning race, so didn’t have high expectations for my run. However, based on my 10k a couple of weeks ago, I thought I could aim for 23:00 or under. My stretch goal was to aim for close to 22:00, but knowing how hilly the course was, I knew it would be difficult.

Race strategy: Run by feel and use the downhills. See what happens.

Weather & outfit: A beautiful late summer/early autumn morning: warm in the sun and cool in the shade. Around 20C/68F. I wore shorts, Heathside vest, and sunglasses. Although this was a trail race, the weather has been dry and part of the race was on paved paths, so I didn’t wear my trail shoes but instead went for my new Brooks Ghost 11 trainers (I’m a fan!).

Photo credit: Phil Rumbelow

The race: F and I jogged the 2 miles down to Parliament Hill together but of course were mega-early so I collected my number and hung around for longer than ideal. I was not warm anymore by the time the race started. I was one of the only people in a club vest; this was very much a local charity race, which gave it a low-key feel. The small field of 31 5k runners lined up first, and off we went up and over the grassy knoll and down to the paved paths by the ponds.

Only one other woman was in front of me but she was way ahead so I tried to settle into my own rhythm. My legs felt heavy and I was disappointed when the first kilometer went by in 4:34. There goes my 22:00 goal, I thought. Oh well, just do your best. These hills are killer. Around past the Ladies’ Pond and into the wooded part of the course. Mostly uphill. Second kilometer: 5:12. Ugh. Just keep running. Use the downhills in the second half of the course. With two kilometers to go, we finally had some reprieve from climbing. I pumped my arms and tried to work my legs as fast as they could go. My fourth kilometer was 4:11 and I brought it home in 4:06 pace, glad to finish and not have to run another lap like the 10k runners. I ended up running the entire race pretty much on my own, which didn’t make it any easier.

Finishing. Photo credit: Phil Rumbelow.

The result: I finished the race in a 21:46 chip time (7:29/mi = 4:39/km) and came 6th of 31 5k finishers and 2nd woman of 18. Although my time looks fast, the course was actually 4.68km rather than 5k, so I was actually on track for about a 23:15 finish time.

This was not a particularly fun race. I was happy that the course was short. My legs felt sluggish and the hills were hard. I’m glad I did it, though, and it definitely counts as a good hill/XC training run if nothing else!

Post-race: Slow jog home with goody bag, including a decent technical t-shirt in navy – a color I didn’t have yet!

Next up: The annual Middlesex 10k in two weeks. It’s flat, so hopefully I can run a good time. I think I need to incorporate more speedwork, though, as I’ve struggled to average under 4:38/km in recent races and workouts. I need a bit of a boost to get under that threshold.